Friday, 8 March 2013

Tutorial: Bento Drawstring Lunch Bag

Step 1: Cut one rectangle 26cmx46cm from the fabric of your choice. Use a zigzag stitch to finish all four raw edges.

Step 2: Fold fabric in half with the right sides together. Mark 5cm from the top on both sides.

Step 3: Sew together along the sides using a 1cm allowance.

Step 4: Iron seams open. Pinch the bottom corners together, lining up the side and bottom (the middle line of the bottom of the bag) seams. Iron.

Step 5: Measure 4.5cm from the top of the corner and draw the sewing line on both sides. Sew. You can leave the corners as it is now or you can cut off the corners using a 1.5cm allowance and use the bias tape to finish the outside edges.

Step 6: Turn the bag the right side out. Work with one side at a time. Fold 1cm in from the top and iron. Then fold one more time all the way to the 5cm mark (the beginning of the side seam). Iron well. Repeat with he other side.

Step 7: Stitch in place along the bottom edge. I prefer to make a second seam just 2-4mm below the first one. This is going to be the casing for the cord.

Step 8: Cut two pieces of cord 67cm long each. Using a safety pin pull one cord through the casing until both ends re on the same side. Pull the second cord through so that the ends are on the opposite side of the bag.

Step 9: You can simply tie the ends together in a knot on each side or you can make a decorative fabric ends.

If you use this tutorial and publish pictures on your site, please link to it. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.